Dear Parent/s, School results from last spring’s MCAS testing were released this past week. Children’s individual reports will soon follow. These reports once again show that the Oak Bluffs School is filled with high achieving students and instructional staff. Our 2014 Progress Performance Index (PPI), a school’s “measuring stick” in the context of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), demonstrates that we perform in the 89th percentile among schools across the Commonwealth. Our PPI ranks highest on the Island for the second year in a row, earning the Oak Bluffs School the highest designation of Level 1. I am particularly proud of the following – All Students Tested: Annual PPI of 90 and Cumulative PPI of 100 – We gained extra credit for decreasing the number of warning scores in math and English language Arts. Students in our High Needs Category: Our high needs population, which includes our children with special needs, our English language learners, and our low-income population achieved a very high annual and cumulative PPI rating of 85. We gained extra credit for decreasing the number of warning scores in math and English Language Arts. I get so few opportunities to crow about our staff. So I wish to recognize their tremendous efforts. Year in and year out they dig down and meet an increasing challenge with diminishing resources. Their commitment to children is second to none. It is because of their efforts and those of our children that our school continues to rank among the highest in the Commonwealth. Yours, Richie Smith